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Ahab The Arab (pronounced the American colloquial way, "A-rab" or /'eiræb/, to rhyme with "A-hab") is a novelty song recorded by Ray Stevens in 1962.

The song portrays a "sheik of the burning sands" named Ahab. He is highly decorated with jewelry, and every night he hops on Clyde, his camel, on his way to see Fatima, who is the best dancer in the Sultan's harem, and is apparently a fan of various aspects of American culture. When Ahab finds Fatima in her tent, she is "eating on a raisin, and a grape, and an apricot, and a pomegranate, a bowl of chitterlings, two bananas, three Hershey bars and sipping on an RC cola, listening to her transistor, watching the Grand Ole Opry, and reading Mad Magazine while singing 'Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor'." Ahab loves Fatima, which apparently doesn't sit too well with the Sultan, and later prompts an escape attempt. (A shorter version neglects to mention the escape attempt at all, instead ending the song with Fatima saying, "Crazy, baby!")

Along with "The Streak", it was one of Stevens' biggest hits and contributed greatly to his popularity. It reached number 5 on the Billboard top 40 during July of 1962.

A later song by Stevens, a Christmas novelty number called "Santa Claus Is Watching You", features a "cameo" by Clyde. The intrepid camel is pressed into service in place of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the famous reindeer having been sidelined by an injury incurred during a Twist contest.

Stevens has said that Clyde the camel was named after rhythm-and-blues singer Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead singer of The Drifters. Clyde is arguably the most memorable character of the song, due to Stevens' exaggerated imitation of a camel's braying vocalization. Clyde has become something of a mascot for Stevens, and for several years in the late 1990's and early 2000's the artist released albums and video entertainment under the label "Clyde Records" (complete with camel-shaped logo).

A cover version of Stevens' song was released in July 1962, by Jimmy Savile, backed by the English pop group The Tremeloes, featuring Brian Poole.